Friday, November 12, 2010

Sorry about the no-post on Wednesday. The Internet was wonky, and then the file I was working on didn't save. You'd think I'd know better after writing essays for six years straight in university!

Anyway, Thursday's just not in the cards so here's an apology post with a promise that Friday night I'll get something up. Think of it this way: you can read about the next role-playing game on my list while you munch on your morning grapefruit. Because those things are munch-able.

Monday, November 8, 2010

A bit of a spoiler for the forthcoming Top 10 Tabletop Miniature Games series I'll do after its Roleplay cousin wraps up, but my favorite wargame of all time is the Epic series by Games Workshop. Ever since I was 11 and Epic 40,000 was released I was hooked. Afterwards when I did some research into the previous editions of Epic (Adeptus Titanicus and Space Marine 1st edition, then Space Marine 2nd edition and Titan Legions), and experienced the pinnacle in 6mm gaming with Epic Armageddon (the most recent Epic edition) I came to realize how simplistic Epic 40,000 was. But none the less it occupies a special place in my heart.

Now, Epic Armageddon may be a solid, and ingenious gaming system, in my eyes it is incomplete. Why Games Workshop decided that the first supplement, Swordwind, should contain yet another Imperial Guard and Ork army list and not decide to do updated Chaos Space Marine, and Tyranid lists is beyond me, but alas Specialist Games imploded shortly after the release of Swordwind, thereby leaving out two armies that have models.

Recently when I got the bug to start playing Epic again, I looked at Epic Armageddon, and realized that the Tyranid player in my group, and the Chaos player would be high and dry when it came to army selection. This began a search for a different system that could satisfy our 6mm gaming needs. Epic 40,000 was (as described previously) too simplistic, and one gamer even refused to play it. This left us with NetEpic.

NetEpic, I haven't played. However, from what I understand it is the old Space Marine/Titan Legions rules updated after ~7-8 years of playtesting by fans. The selling point is the full-color rulebooks they offer as free .pdf downloads. I passed the word around and now we're going to give it a shot.

I've spent the last couple of days reading the rules and building army lists for my Blood Angels and I think after a few paint sessions I should be ready to go. We have access to fantastic Epic-scale Forge World terrain and everyone has a painted force. I'll let you know how it goes closer to our playing. I think it's still some time off, but I'm excited to give this new/old ruleset a shot.

In other news: In case I didn't mention it before I'm doing the posts for the Roleplaying List once a week (on Wednesdays), and when it's over and I start doing the Wargaming one, I'll do it twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) mostly because there will be 10 games on the list instead of 5.

Sorry if this post seems disjointed, or all over the place. I'm in between projects right now, and I'm quite tired. After I scribe this, it's time to clean the house, then prepare for Vampire: the Requiem tonight.

Friday, November 5, 2010

To continue the series on what I believe the top 5 role-playing games of all time are, I hereby give you: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

Much like the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay system (of which I wrote in the first installment), this is a dangerous game, where one cannot simply walk into a room of orcs and begin swinging safely, nor can you discount the effects of madness, or disease. Very few healing potions will save you from Nurgle's Rot, or the sight of watching your friend's leg get hewen from her body.

Remember what I said in the preamble to this series: These games are arranged in no particular order, otherwise this would be last in the series taking it's rightful place as what I believe to be the best roleplaying game I've ever played. Also remember what I said about editions. When I mention a game I take into account all of the editions I have played, in this case it's all of them.

I began my first foray into Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) during the years when Hogshead took over production of the game. This was in the early 2000s, and during that time the Games Workshop in Metrotown Centre (which was my game shop of choice) actually carried the books. Apparently they didn't sell exceptionally well, but I bought every, damned, book they had over time. i had dabbled in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition previous to WFRP, but never had I dove into a game with such enthusiasm as WFRP 1st edition. Perhaps it was my already well-grounded love for the Warhammer World through the fantastic miniatures game, or perhaps it was the fact that while AD&D 2E was fun, WFRP promised to be a dangerous and brutal game that would tax my decision-making skills in ways that dungeon crawling never had.

+ENEMY WITHIN CAMPAIGN SPOILER ALERT+
I began Game Mastering (GMing) the Enemy Within Campaign (even today hailed as an amazing campaign by critics, and the most fun I've ever had playing an RPG). The Enemy Within took the players on a quest from Bögenhafen near Altdorf, all the way to Kislev and back to confront a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch and save the Empire. Though the time in Kislev was a bit tedious and strayed from what is now believed to be absolute canon of the Warhammer World, the dark humor of the stories and the recurring characters made you feel totally immersed. If you're looking for a sentence to sum up the greatness that this campaign and game possessed: WFRP 1st edition and the Enemy Within Campaign kept a group of four 9th graders playing every week for the entire 5-volume set.+END OF SPOILERS+

Then in 2005 during my time working as a redshirt at the very Games Workshop where I first experienced WFRP, Black Industries was founded. This subdivision of Games Workshop was to deal with Games Workshop's board and role-playing games, though the rules were developed by the ever-creative Chris Pramas and the folks at Green Ronin Publishing in Seattle. Green Ronin created the 2nd edition of WFRP; tidying up some of the loose ends and clarifying bits here and there, but overall not changing much. To a gamer like myself (who hadn't sojourned across the Old World in over four years) this was perfect. Now more people could experience what I and my three friends did back in high school. The big campaign was called Paths of the Damned, and was a three-part series that advanced the WFRP timeline to the current events of the Warhammer World: The Storm of Chaos.

In 2008/2009 the reigns of board and role-playing game publishing went to another American outfit called Fantasy Flight Games (FFG), a company who had made other forays into role-playing but was most famous for its boardgames. Fantasy Flight soon announced another edition of WFRP, and this time it would be different again from other role-playing systems. This time it was to have board game components. This news shocked the role-play community (gamers are a fairly conservative group), and I must admit even shocked myself.

As a clerk at a games shop I got a complimentary copy from FFG and I ran the intro adventure in it for a group of gamers. While skeptical at first, it quickly grew on me. I realized that what I loved about WFRP wasn't the percentile dice, or the critical hit charts, or the miniatures (though all those things were great), but that I loved the grittiness, the danger, and the insanity. The third edition (though adding cards, symboled instead of numbered dice, and counters) was exactly what the other editions were, but more innovative.

So how do the games work then? Well, the first two editions are similar, but the third isn't really, so I'll do them in two groups.

1st/2nd Editions
To begin you'd roll d10s and add a modifier for each statistic, which were similar to the Warhammer Fantasy Battle statistics: Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Strength, Toughness, Wounds, Leadership, Intelligence, Willpower, and Dexterity. Then you'd choose a race and a class (Elf, Human, Dwarf, or Halfling; Warrior, Academic, Priest, Rogue (classes were gotten rid of in 2nd edition)). Then you'd roll a d100 on a career chart (or a specific career chart as determined by your class in 1st edition), and cross-reference your roll with your race and get your career. This would describe what you did before you became an adventurer.

The game was d100 based with low-rolls being better than higher ones. You'd want to roll under your characteristic to succeed, then for damage you'd roll a d6 (in 1st edition) or a d10 (in 2nd) and add the first digit of your strength (or the Strength Bonus in 2nd edition, which was the same thing as in 1st, it just got its own entry on the stat line), subtract the Toughness and armor of the opponent and that's how many wounds you'd do. If your opponent's wounds got to below 0, you'd roll a d100 on a chart, cross-reference the amount that the damage brought the opponent below 0 by, and get a result which you'd look up on a chart. Also, the game was location-based, so you could hit someone in the arm, head, whatever.

The magic systems were the most different in the two editions: In 1st it was more like Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd edition where your character would have a certain number of magic points that would decrease with spell use and increase with rest. Almost like a currency. In 2nd edition, you had a magic number which would be the number of d10s you had to roll. If any of them turned up a 9 (Tzeentch's favorite number) you'd roll on a specific chart depending on how many 9s you rolled and see what your penalty is. Magic in 2nd edition was more in line with Warhammer Fantasy Battle 6th edition, and was, thus, more dangerous. I liked the 2nd edition way of magic better.

3rd Edition
3rd Edition still has the careers, still has the critical hits, and still has the insanity, but they all work a little differently. The characteristics are point-buy instead of rolling (because in this edition there are no numbered dice, only ones with symbols). Then you'd choose your career card, and choose your talent, and action cards. Talent cards fit into your career sheet like slots, with each sheet having space for a certain number of talent cards, and the action cards are ones you're trained in, or have the requirements for. The dice mechanic is much better than in the first two editions, and it goes like this.

Take the number of blue d8s based on your characteristic, and add any white d6s if you have a bonus to your characteristics. Then add a number of purple d8s equal to the difficulty. Then you must convert a number of blue d8s into either red d10s if you're reckless, or green d10s if you're conservative (as determined by choice, and career). If you have any pertinent skills, add a yellow d6, and then add white d6s for favorable environments/situations and/or black d6s for unfavorable ones.

Then roll. Certain symbols cancel out others, and others just stay there. You're able to succeed, and still have bad things happen, as well as fail, and have good things come out of it. Personally, I believe this mechanic helps role-playing as opposed to hindering it. In games with numbers, it's easy to just say "I hit" and move on. This way, you're forced to describe the scene to make sense out of why you can succeed but still have bad luck. "As you stab into the beastman, he slips on the blood of his comrades, wrenching the sword out from your hand and falling to the ground just as the minotaur bounds towards you."

The game also takes miniatures and battle mats out of the equation. Weird, especially with the fantastic range of figures Citadel Miniatures has. However, this makes the role-playing the center of the action and the exact placement and fiddly details of maps gets pushed aside. Criticize the game all you want, but you can't say that role-playing is limited in favor of a 'board game aesthetic.'

Overall, I love the new edition (possibly the best). It definitely adds more to the game table (which isn't always good), but the to-hit ratio is greater, and it still retains all the bits of the last editions that I loved. That being said, I wouldn't have played the last editions for nine years if they weren't brilliant either, and so I shouldn't say that the new edition blows the others out of the water, but that it adds to them to help make WFRP the best roleplaying series I've ever played.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Believe me, I am getting on track with my postings! Or at least I mean to.

Today I woke up late; realized I needed to go grocery shopping before work, or else I'd have nothing to eat until Monday; then went to work. I didn't even get a chance to pick up a new wireless router (I'm all corded-up like a barbarian!). Then after work I had to rush over to a Hallowe'en party. To get an idea as to how quickly I had to get to the party: I drove. Which meant that I couldn't drink. Now I'm no alcoholic, but I very much enjoy my vitamin 'A' (if ya catch my drift). So needless to say I got nothing done, and it's now 2:00am and I need to get up in six hours for work. Technically it's a Saturday, but my Fridays don't end until I've slept!

In hobby-related news: I've been trying to work out a system with the Reaper Master Series metallic paints, and it will still take more testing. As I said in a previous post: I'll do a review on them later. Right now? It's time to hit the ole bed-stack.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Not a heck of a lot to report today. I finished reading not one, but two, rulebooks! The first one was Urban War by Urban Mammoth (great company, silly name). I'm going to give a more detailed review on this game once I've actually played it, but to me it appears to be a heavily modified Warhammer 40,000 but with d10s and alternate activation. Now, I enjoy 40k, and I enjoy games like Warzone (of which the creators of Urban War were the creators) and I love Necromunda, so the marriage of these three (not valid in mosts states) should be great! I'll report on this in a month or so when all of my gaming buddies finish their stuff and we start playing.

Next, I read Battlestations published by Gorilla Games, which has been getting great reviews. Again, I'm going to give a better review on this once I've played it (hopefully in the next couple of weeks), and I'm very excited to, but I can say this right now... This is a terribly written rulebook. It takes for granted that you know certain rules that aren't explained until later, reading more like a rules compendium than a guide to teaching you how to play. The game also seems complex, with many different rules for similar things (and this is a Battletech fan, you're talking to). However, I imagine if it's good enough for Tom Vasel it's good enough for me.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Two posts in a row complaining about a lack of posts isn't very professional. (Not that I'm doing this blog as a profession) I guess this is why I've whittled down my amount of blogging to just this one. Ironically, I got more "extra-curricular" stuff done when I was in school. If you think my blogging has been hit hard since I finished school in the beginning of August, just take a look at my painting, writing, reading, etc.

Without getting too personal here, (this is a gaming blog, not a LiveJournal®) my moments of free time have been taken up with a lot of self-contemplation, and boredom. Not the kind of boredom that is apparent, but one that sort of just sits there, behind you, causing your attention span to be tugged in many different directions; all the while making you wonder just what the hell is going on with you. I would take up projects, only to, days later, dump them. Now I'm not saying that I'm over this; just that I've recognized it, and that's the first step towards getting over it. Right now, I'm working on things one at a time, and learning to take things slowly, in order to approach them in a manageable manner.

For instance: While I'm in windy Victoria, BC until friday, I'm going to do a little bit of work on my Vampire: the Requiem campaign I'm taking my gaming group through. So far I think the experience has been good, though to be honest I haven't put in as much work as I'd like to. This will be one of the things that changes.

Another thing I'm approaching, is that I've streamlined my painting palette. Over the years I've used paints from Vallejo, Privateeer Press, Citadel Miniatures, Rackham (ugh!), Reaper, and Testors, all so that I can gauge what would be the best paints to use. Well, I've come to my conclusion. Are you ready? Too bad if you aren't; I'm going to tell you anyways. Once I get my Top 5 Roleplaying Games list out of the way, and my Top 10 Tabletop Miniatures Games out of the way, I plan on doing a breakdown of my opinions on the various paint lines. However, I've pared down the various paints to: P3 as the main line with Reaper Master Series for metallics, and Citadel washes and Foundation paints for specific works. Of course I'd be open to specific colors from other ranges as they're needed, but these three paint lines will form my painting palette for the foreseeable future.

Lastly, my gaming group (well... Three people out of my gaming group, not including myself) have decided to give Urban War a shot. I couldn't be more excited! I very much enjoyed VOID 1.1, and have been wanting to give its "successors" (Urban War and Metropolis) a shot since they came out (2003/2004-ish). I'm doing the Junkers (as it's an army I've been working on since the VOID 1.1 Gamebox) made mostly out of figures from the old VOID 1.1 Gamebox; another gamer is doing the Gladiators; a third the Viridians; and the last is doing Syntha. I can't wait until their models arrive from special order at STRATEGIES so we can begin the modeling. I'll be sure to document the saga extensively.

That's it for now. Thanks for bearing with me through this time of self-reflection (be thankful that you only saw the silence and neglect part of it), and get ready for more regular updates. In order to help order my involvement with this blog, it'll be updated every monday, wednesday, and friday. See you on wednesday!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

So problems on the Internet front the last two days prevented a post on Monday. I have a two-hour ferry ride to Vancouver Island today so I'll post Wednesday's post today, and who knows? I might get up to something on Thursday.

Friday, October 8, 2010

I guess once a day was a little ambitious for myself. Let's see if I can get into a schedule of every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

So in the last 24 hours I've built two very different model kits, despite them both being elves of some sort.

Here's the first one I built:FANTASTIC is an understatement to this kit. Tons of heads, spikes, guns, and extras to add so much character to your squad. This is to say nothing of how easy it is to put together, and how seamlessly it all fits together. Truly, this is the reason I'm starting a Dark Eldar army, and I do not hesitate to claim that the Dark Eldar models are the greatest figures Games Workshop has ever produced!

BAM! There, I said it.

On the other hand:These models were the worst I've ever had to put together. High Elves are a passion of mine, but this kit tested my skills as a modeller. Granted I received no instructions along with this kit, as it was part of a Black Box, which Games Workshop sends out to its stores and retail partners in order to display. In a Black Box they just send the sprues, and nothing more. Yet, all three of the Dark Eldar kits I put together were done with a little thought, but easily enough.

This fuckin' kit was brutal! Not only do certain arms go with certain weapons, but they also go with certain bodies! To top it off, the parts aren't numbered consecutively, nor are they numbered A1 to A2, etc. They're just numbered! Which would be fantastic if I had instructions. Besides this problem (which could easily be solved with instructions), the models didn't rank up as nicely as I expect with today's GW kits, and they are in awkward poses. The entire regiment looks like its bounding forth, which is pretty cool, if it wasn't that each figure was attached to his base by a tiny point on the tips of their forefoot. Overall, when put next to the Dark Eldar figures that are only a month off (and a month and a half after the release of these White Lions), they just don't compare; the Dark Eldar take the cake in almost every aspect. And this is coming from a lifelong Warhammer fan, and an even bigger High Elf fan.

To say that Dark Heresy was one of the most anticipated roleplaying games is putting it lightly. The collector's edition sold out within minutes, and I'm happy to say that one sits atop my gaming shelf like a terrible, black, monolith, lording over the other roleplaying games as if to dare them to match the deadliness and grit that this book eats for breakfast. Utilizing the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st/2nd edition system, this game allows you to take on the role of an Inquisitor's acolyte, a member of the bridge crew on a Rogue Trader's vessel, or even one of the superhuman space-knights known as Space Marines as you explore a brutal, and horrifying future 38,000 years from now.

The system uses a d100 mechanic where you roll under a given statistic in order to succeed at various tasks. When it comes time to dish out damage, a damage is rolled (1 or more d10s with additional valued depending on the strength of the user or the viciousness of the weapon), and from it is subtracted a toughness value and an armor value, the sum of which determines the wounds inflicted. When your wound limit is reduced to below 0 you begin to take critical damage as determined by how below 0 you are as well as the type of weapon just used upon you. No critical hit is good, but many are better than others. These are truly vicious, however, resulting in loss of limb, organ failure, or death. The game is also location-based, allowing you to target arms, legs, bodies, or heads. Far from slowing down the game, this system allows for a detail often absent from many RPGs.

The universe, itself, is possibly one of the most characterful elements of the game. It's the 41st millennium, and 10,000 years ago a living God referred to only as The Emperor fell victim to the betrayal of his "son" Horus. While Horus succumbed to his injuries in the final battle, The Emperor was left in a death-like state. To preserve him, humanity stuck him in The Golden Throne: a city-sized life support system, that sustains his deathlike state. The Emperor is revered as a god by most of humanity, yet he does not interact physically with anyone. His will creates a psychic barrier that exists between reality and an alternate dimension known as The Warp. The Warp is filled with echos of every living thing, thought and emotion. It's also filled with hellish creatures known as Daemons and their foul gods (Slaanesh, Nurgle, Khorne, and Tzeentch) who try to destroy humanity.

Humanity, itself, is a medieval hierarchy of bureaucrats, governors, and aristocracy. At times it mimics the middle ages, while at others it appears to be an enlightenment-type society, though with none of the enlightenment's optimism or mistrust of religion. To add to the mix, a plethora of aliens exist to torment humanity. The majority of humanity mistrusts aliens and the government of the Imperium treats them with a genocidal rage and xenophobia that rivals any such feelings in our present era history. The most common aliens are the barbaric Space Orks, the enigmatic Eldar, their psychopathic cousins the Dark Eldar, the imperialistic Tau, and the infinite hordes of the Tyranids.

In Dark Heresy, you take on the role of a servant of an Inquisitor (the Imperiums' equivalent of both the FBI and the CIA), investigating rumors of dissent, heresy, or contact with aliens. You are little more than a citizen, who has shown some prowess in one aspect of law enforcement, or bureaucratic life, which presents a challenge as you are not powerful, but you show some heroic aptitude, and you have the backing of a powerful patron whose credentials strike fear into the hearts of your average citizen or even royalty. Combat in this game is not favorable, and is highly dangerous. Unlike in many sci-fi/fantasy RPGs, you can't always shrug off a gunshot, and if you don't possess the Dodge skill, you'd better wear armor, or stay out of trouble.

I like this game because you are an average citizen of the Imperium (or a cop, or grunt soldier) who has been drafted to serve the Emperor, and it can be dangerous, and creepy, often leading to the madness of your character as you assail the lairs of cultists, heretics, or (Emperor help you) go up against daemons.

Rogue Trader takes the power level of the 40K roleplaying games up a notch, putting you in command of your own starship (and also letting you take on the roles of more powerful characters), as you explore the unknown parts of our galaxy. Unlike Dark Heresy, you don't have much authority, except that you're a Rogue Trader, who is a type of nobility. Granted you command your own starship and you have a warrant of trade (a license allowing you to trade with worlds within the Imperium), but you operate between the laws, often trading with aliens and heretics, just so that you can make a buck. This is probably my favorite of the three games, as it gives you more powerful equipment and characters as in Dark Heresy (though not as powerful as in Deathwatch), and still pits you up against some of the most terrible things that come from outside the boundaries of Imperial rule. I'm also an explorer at heart, and the ability to explore the fringes of the galaxy (albeit in a fictional world) is too much to resist.

Deathwatch is the latest in the 40K roleplay series and allows you to take on the role of a Space Marine, a knight and favored warrior of the Emperor. In fact, each Space Marine carries a bit of the Emperor's blood and genes within their DNA. Millennia ago, the Emperor created these warriors and crafted his "sons" known as the primarchs. To each primarch he gave a legion of marines encoded with their (and by extension, the Emperor's) DNA. Each space marine reflects the emotions of their primarch (most primarchs are now long dead), and is a genetically-enhanced human warrior. This is the ultimate power level in the 41st millennium. In Deathwatch you are a space marine who has been taken from his chapter (the designation for a space marine legion), and recruited into the Deathwatch, an alien-hunting organization who operates (as in Dark Heresy) under the command of an Inquisitor.

In this game you and your fellow players go on military missions that require surgical strikes as opposed to full on attacks. You're not running in guns blazing, but figuring out tactical ways to complete your missions. While this game doesn't lend itself to the roleplaying situations that many RPGs do (I can't see a space marine bartering for a gun at a market, or trying to impress a planetary governor), you have to work with your squad (who are taken from different chapters that are sometimes at odds with each other), and interact with other characters in the game (space marines can't shoot their way through every problem). It uses the same system as the previous two versions of the game, but takes you from the alleyways and shadows of Imperial society and into the battlefield and war rooms of the Imperial war machine.

That's all for today. Tomorrow you'll get another one. If you want me to elaborate on any aspect of any of the games I describe, just say so in the comments section and I'll do my best to edit, and/or respond to your query. These posts are often unplanned and emulate myself chatting, ad lib, with you about my favorite games.

+++END TRANSMISSION+++

P.S. My spellcheck is wonky right now, and my ferry ride is almost over. While I pride myself on my writing skills and grammatical accuracy, I do tend to think and type quickly. I'll try again later, but please excuse any problems your eyes encounter.

So because I'm knee-deep in a Vampire: the Requiem campaign and loving every minute of it, I thought I'd begin the first part of a five part series on my favorite roleplaying games. I will publish one post a day detailing a favorite roleplaying game from my top 5 favorites.

Here's some caveats to the list: First, I will specify no editions of the roleplaying games. That is to say, I wont put D&D4 at one point in the list and AD&D in another. This is because I believe that any roleplaying edition has enough elements of any of its other editions so as to make this redundant. Also, a virtue of a game is its ability to withstand the test of time. For example, Monopoly (I know it's a boardgame) does not stand the test of time no matter which way you look at it, and is only playable during the Great Depression when people had nothing better to do.

Secondly, this list will suffer from the same deficiencies that other lists of its ilk do, and that is the fallacy of favoritism. While lists, by their very nature are a ranking of favorites in some regard, this list isn't to say that while I may place one RPG above another. I toyed with the idea of making a countdown list, but found that rankings present a plethora of problems that I just want to avoid. Also, it's like picking your favorite child. This is a list of my top 5 favorite roleplaying games of all time in no particular order. This is purely my choice, and preference, and in doing so I will present aspects of a roleplaying game I like and don't like. That will be this list's benefit to you, the reader, as opposed to being just a five-day rant about which games are cool.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

So I'm done school *much fanfare*, and will be available for much posting. Right now I've been up to my ears in gaming: Warhammer 8, Hordes 2, WFRP3, World of Darkness, WFRP2, OH GOD!

So I'll give y'all an update on Monday, as that's my next free day. I'll also be starting the beginning of a series of articles called "The Wargamer's Top 10 Miniatures Games," followed by "The Wargamer's Top 5 Role-Playing Games." Where each post covers a game. This will hopefully run for 15 days starting monday (in addition to regular posts).

I'm also in a Warhammer 8th edition army builder campaign back at the helm of my beloved High Elves. Oh, and Dark Age is being re-released. Oh! AND! The game shop I work at is hosting our annual painting contest, which I shall submit entries in every category. The entries may surprise many of you, or none at all.

Also, a dark apostle has been spotted at the edge of the solar system, heading right for Earth... Stay tuned.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

So it took me 31 days to do a 35 point army, but I came in 2nd, AND i did the whole army in only 7 sittings! That means, if I did paint every day, I would've finished this army in one week: the same amount of time that the 1st place winner finished his stuff in. Would'a, should'a, could'a...

Anyways, I'm supremely pleased that I did an army that I'm proud of so quickly, and this opens new avenues of speed painting for me. Tomorrow I'll get a picture of the whole force together. I'm also going to have my 1st game around the 7th of July when the Hordes card packs come out. I'll post a battle report of that.

When I post pictures of the whole force tomorrow I'll also (finally!) write an army list and show what was in this army. Until then, enjoi!

Friday, June 11, 2010

In order to counteract the intensely frustrating day I had at school (waa!) I came straight home to my sanctuary, made some coffee, put on the D&D Podcast, and sat down to paint. I got into the zone, and painting definitely calmed me down.

Anyway, I finished my warlock (Lylyth), and got some skin and black highlighting done on my Striders. I have but 9 models left to do, and they only have the brown (and some silver) left to do. My Strider Deathstalker hasn't a lick of paint, beyond primer, on her, and this is just because in my random paint line-up she kept getting put at the end. I've decided I'll paint her all alone after the other 8 are done.

I've also become very excited about Dark Sun (it being one of my favorite campaign settings), and this thought of a "favorite something" has me filling out lists. After this paint challenge is done, I'm going to make three batches of posts for "Top 10 Tabletop Miniature Games," "Top 5 Roleplaying Games," and "Top 10 Campaign Settings." Stay tuned!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Yes, I know the timestamp on this post would suggest that this would be the 9th day of the painting challenge and not the 7th, but these photos are from the 7th of June. I tried desperately to get some painting in yesterday but no dice. Today I'm hoping to hit my models with a few brushstrokes, but there's only a week and a half of school left and I need to get working on my final projects.

P.S. Alas the paint contest has a victor, and it is not me. Darren (Skorne player) has come in first place on June 7th, but Jay (Cryx), and I are going to finish for the illustrious title of 2nd place. I'll post all the pics from their stuff at the end, and these updates from me will continue, as well as a report on what Jay and I have to paint for Darren...

Now the crummy part is that I wont get any painting done this weekend as I'll be in Summerland, BC: the town where my girlfriend's from, as we bask in all of its quaint glory. I'll be back with a vengeance on Monday, however; hopefully with two finished Carniveans, and some Shredder work.

Did I mention I'm doing a drow-themed force? Except I don't have any cool spider conversions due to lack of time, and idea how I would go about that. I've also primed the figures with P3 black primer, and am using 95% P3 paints (the only non P3 paints are the washes from Citadel, Hormagaunt Purple from Citadel, and Warlock Purple from Citadel). Tomorrow I'm hoping to finish the Carniveans, the Shepherds, and start into the Forsaken and Lylyth. Oh Nelly I've a long way to go yet.

How lame is this? My computer doesn't feel like recognizing my camera right now. Maybe this is for the best at the moment as I could use some serious homework time, but I'm fairly choked that I can't put up any pictures of my painting (especially since I'm a few brushstrokes away from finishing two carniveans and shepherds).

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

It's been awhile. Still plugging away at school; still am into this blog. It's just one has to take over the other for both to survive... I guess that works...

Anyways, today is the first day of the 35-point Hordes painting challenge I'm doing with two friends. One will be painting Skorne, the other Cryx, and I will be doing a Legion of Everblight army. I'll post pictures as they happen, and hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of the armies of the other two. I even have some pictures that will get uploaded tonight (I mean it this time).

Part of the motivation behind this, besides us getting painted armies, is that it will motivate our customers to get their armies painted. We'll hopefully display how easy and quick it can be, for out of all the miniatures games we sell, and support, Warmachine and Hordes is the hardest one to get people to paint. I don't know why, honestly.

The rules are simple: Paint a 35-point WM/H army as fast as you can. The winner gets a painted figure from each of the losers that will be requested at a later date. There's no time limit.

Friday, April 2, 2010

As is unfortunately becoming a routine here on the blog, school is dominating my life. I'm a semester away from graduating and need to power through these next five months. As such, this blog will (and has been) suffer(ing). I'll come out of this with new stuff to add, though, as my homework time can easily become painting time after all is said and done.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Due to daylight savings time (a most evil invention if there ever was one) I was much too tired when I sat down at my paint table today to do any work. Thus concludes the Paint a Day project resulting in a squad of Blood Angels that are one highlight away from a finished red, and one away from a finished black. Overall, not crazy, but that's how the paint pot rolls (or doesn't in the case of Citadels octagonal pots).

Tomorrow, er - today, I'll do another hour at least, but this wont be documented nearly as extensively (sure, let's go with "extensively documented") as this last week's. I'm still gonna work on some Blood Angels and some Warzone Bauhaus. Today, however, I played two games of Chaos in the Old World, and even managed a victory as Khorne. I'm usually a Slaanesh player, and I'm surely not a Nurgle player as I did rather horribly with him. I'll have to give him another shot next time.

Well, right now I'm off to bed. I want to wake up early tomorrow to get some things done. I'm hoping to do some work on my Warzone blog this week. Make sure to check it out.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

So, despite my three missing days, the "Paint a Day" project isn't a total wash (get it? Like painting wash! Eh? EH?). Wednesday kinda sucked, as I sat down to build some Bauhaus Ducal Militia and ended up doing nothing but that as time slid away; then Thursday I did nothing whatsoever. Today also kinda sucked paint-wise, but tomorrow I'm going to get up extra early and get an hour in before work, same with Sunday. I'm also going to continue this onto the following week, but probably wont make a big bloggy deal out of it. I also have some photos to post, which I'll do periodically throughout the next week.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I guess this technically counts as a post on Tuesday, but I did get some work done on my figs today! I wrestled with an airbrush concerning my Blood Angel tactical squad and Mk1 Rhino (pics Wednesday?), and I based my latest Warzone acquisitions. I also went through my Blood Angels and tested some washes on various parts of their bodies in order to find the best wash for the job. My original color scheme involved a Dark Flesh wash, but that was in the pre-Citadel Wash days. These days I'm gonna class it up a bit and use one of the washes. After testing Baal Red, Gryphonne Sepia, Devlan Mud, and Ogryn Flesh, I've decided on Baal Red being the closest to the original Dark Flesh wash.

Tomorrow's gonna be slim, but I'm gonna attempt to touch up the Blood Angels, get a wash on 'em, and let 'em dry. I might actually fail at getting an hours work on them, but 30 minutes ought to be good enough.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

So I'm trying to get some painting done, and as you all know I'm nototoriously bad at this; mostly due to a lack of time and/or procrastination. To this end I'm doing a project whereby I paint for at least an hour a day this week (which will hopefully carry on into next week as well). I'll also be blogging every day this week while I do this.

Here's what's on the docket:+Blood Angels+Warzone (yes, Warzone!) Bauhaus, Imperial, Capitol, Dark Legion and Cybertronic+Warmaster Ancients Romans+The last two Cygnar Long Gunner Command models that I need to finish a 35pt. Cygnar army+Battletech

A hearty list indeed. I don't anticipate I'll finish the entire list, but I at least hope to dent it. I guess I'll keep you updated. Today was taken up by priming and basing the Blood Angel and Warzone figures.

Also, I've always been somewhat obsessed with the Mutant Chronicles universe, and I've now set up a separate blog for it. Chronicles of War. Enjoi!

Friday, February 26, 2010

So I took some unannounced time off this Olympic break so that I may watch them, hate them, and game at the same time. Unfortunately throughout all this watching, hating, and gaming I've forgotten some scholarly needs, which I'll need to attend to this weekend.

Also, I got a copy of Incursion on Tuesday and I took some unboxing photos which I'll upload sometime tonight. A review will follow sometime next week (school pains).

A while back I mentioned a Rogue Trader campaign I was writing. Well, we've gotten our first session in, and our second is coming up this Sunday, and to go along with it I've put it on Obsidian Portal. Won't you come on over?